Life can change in a heartbeat
by Lucy Ruth
Summary: Sorry for the terrible title and summary... Found this on my laptop, written a few years ago and never posted! Don't want to give spoilers, but focused around Cal's life following an unexpected change...
1. Chapter 1

Cal groaned at the sound of his alarm, wishing he could stay in bed and avoid his troubles forever. Realising this wasn't possible, he got up and quickly showered to feel more alive and human. Making faces at himself in the mirror as he brushed his teeth, he psyched himself up for the day, then decided he had done enough putting off of the inevitable, and walked down the hallway to the second bedroom.

He paused outside for a few seconds before knocking on the door."Mia? Are you up yet?" he called, only to be shocked as the door promptly opened to reveal a disgruntled teenage girl dressed relatively smartly in a short grey skater skirt, a white blouse and a grey blazer.

"Yep, what's for breakfast?" she asked, attempting to sound cheery, whilst dreading the day ahead. Mia hated schools; she was never any good at making friends as she was too shy.

"Umm…" Cal paused, unsure of what there was in the cupboard.

"Never mind, I'll just have toast then." She said as she whipped past him and down the hall to the kitchen.

Cal looked after her, still not quite believing what had happened over the weekend. His ex-fiancée had showed up on his doorstep, having taken their daughter and disappeared almost 7 years previously, and abandoned her with him, before repeating her disappearing act again, with absolutely no explanation. Cal had taken Mia in, and arranged for her to start at a local secondary school, and bought her all the things she'd need, as she appeared to have little in the way of possessions, only a few items of clothing, which were all too small and looked quite worn, with the exception of some new – looking dance gear. Quite how he was going to explain this to Ethan, he didn't know, as he didn't even know that Cal had been engaged to anyone.

"I'll cross that bridge when I get to it." He thought. "Maybe I can hide it from him." He quickly disregarded that idea, there was no way that would work, not taking into account the commitment looking after a child required, he'd learned that in one weekend. How he was going to cope with this full-time was yet another mystery in his new web of uncertainties.

Cal walked along the hall to be greeted with a plate of toast from Mia, and he joined her sitting at the counter in his kitchen. "So, I'll drive you to school, but I'll still be working when you finish, do you definately know how to get home again?" Cal asked.

"Yes!" Mia replied incredulously. "I'm not a baby, I'm 13! And yes, I've got my keys and lunch money."

"And your inhaler?"

"Yes!"

"Good. Sorry. I don't really have a clue what I'm doing here."

"Yes, that's obvious!" Mia replied, laughing as she put her plate to one side and grabbed her new coat. "Come on, we're going to be late!" she exclaimed, anxious to make a good impression on her first day at a new school, as Cal got up and followed her to the front door of the apartment.

They got into the car and Cal drove the relatively short route to Holby Park Secondary School, where he stopped in the street and turned to Mia, who was more obviously nervous. "Geez Mia, anyone would think you were Ethan's daughter, not mine! Don't be nervous, you'll be fine." He said warmly, putting his hands on her shoulders as she looked up at him, terrified.

"Ok." She said meekly.

"Right, come on then, let's do this!" Cal said as he stepped out of the car and headed towards the school office. Mia felt in her pocket for her new iPhone, just to make sure it was there for the hundredth time that morning. She stepped out the car and took a deep breath as she looked up at the buildings. Cal smirked; he could sense Mia and Ethan would get on well together. Maybe he should get Ethan to come over that evening and introduce him to Mia. He looked down at Mia, who still looked scared, and put an arm around her shoulders as he led her into the school.

Mia looked up at Cal, surprised at how well they were getting on. She did remember him from when she was younger, but she was only 7 when she moved away with her mum, and they'd never lived together full-time anyway. But it seemed natural, which was at least one worry off her plate. She seemed to naturally trust Cal; he was very open and welcoming.

"Hello, how can I help you?" A friendly - looking receptionist asked from behind a counter.

"Hi, I'm Dr. Caleb Knight, this is my daughter Mia Rosetti." Cal explained.

"Right, yes, if you can wait outside a minute, the headmistress would like to speak to you briefly. Take a seat." She gestured to a row of colourful plastic chairs against the far wall, where Mia and Cal obligingly sat. They didn't have to wait long; a few minutes later, a tall blonde woman stepped out of the office, spotted them and made her way over.

"Dr. Knight, I presume?" Cal nodded curtly as they shook hands. "You must be Mia. I'm Miss Cambridge, your Headmistress." Mia just nodded mutely, still scared about joining a new school. Miss Cambridge looked at her expression and had to suppress a smirk. "Nervous?" she asked, Mia nodded again. "Don't worry, everyone here is very friendly, and you can talk to any member of staff at any time if you have any concerns. You have a head of year, and a head of house, as well as a form tutor, and there is also a designated head of pastoral care and student development you can speak to also. There is plenty of support and you'll settle in quickly I'm sure." She smiled at Mia, who smiled back weakly. As she said this, she led them into her office and they sat down around her desk.

"So, Dr. Knight, there are a couple of forms I need you to sign, just a medical consent form and a trip consent form, I'm sure you know the drill." Cal smirked.

"Well, actually, I've never signed one of these before, but I'm aware of what it entails." He replied, as he signed them where necessary before handing them back. "I've only recently become Mia's guardian; she used to live with her mum." He explained. At that moment, Cal's phone rang, and he hastily took it out of his pocket.

"Sorry, that's my boss, I need to take this." He said as he stepped outside the office.

"Ok. So, Mia, I can see from your notes that you have asthma?" Miss Cambridge questionned. Mia nodded.

"I'm sure you're used to managing the condition?" Mia nodded again.

"I have a spare inhaler that can be kept in school." She added.

"Good, I'll show you where Matron's office is later; that's where they will be kept." She explained. "So, how are you finding it, moving in with your dad?"

"Weird, and slightly scary, because it's a totally new town and I don't know anyone. But he's great, and possibly as nervous as me, so it's fine." Mia replied, her longest sentence yet, as she gained courage and confidence. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad, Miss Cambridge seemed very nice too.

Cal opened the door and poked his head through. "I'm really sorry, but I'm needed at work, will you be ok?" He asked apologetically. Mia got up and walked over.

"It's fine, go!" she said smiling, and gave him a hug.

"Ok." Cal replied. "Text me if you have any problems." he added, waving his phone. He walked out with an ear to ear grin; there was something very warmly satisfying about your estranged teenage daughter giving you a hug.

"Ok Mia, just one more thing, your file says that you are in year 10 despite being only 13?"

"Yeah, I was skipped up a year when I was in like reception. I started earlier than most kids." Mia explained.

"Ok, well as long as you're happy with that, then that's fine by us, but if you do have any problems, just speak to one of your teachers ok?"

"Yeah, thanks."

"Right, well, I'll just take you on a brief tour of the school, and then you can go to tutor time. Lessons start at 9am, and here's your timetable, a map and some other general information." Miss Cambridge said, passing Mia a few sheets of paper.

"Thank you." Mia said as they stood up and left the office.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey guys, thanks for reviewing :) always good to hear feedback (it makes my day!) Slightly shorter chapter, but more to follow shortly, enjoy x**

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Cal drove to Holby in a good mood. He had been worried about how things would go with Mia, but she seemed to be settling down, and they were getting on well enough. She'd even hugged him! His mind wandered back to the school. Damn that headmistress was hot! Not that he'd be able to go there; he didn't want to do anything to compromise Mia settling down in Holby. But still, it was true! He had struggled to keep eye contact with her, and h just hope neither she nor Mia had noticed.

He was in such a daze as he entered the ED that he walked straight into Ethan, causing him to drop a stack of patient files which spilled their contents all over the floor.

"Hey! Watch where you're going" Ethan snapped, frustrated as he bent down and began to pick up the sheets of paper. To his utmost surprise, Cal bent down and helped him. Ethan was shocked; Cal never voluntarily helped _anyone_ , let alone him! Ethan stared at Cal.

"What?" Cal asked his brother, seeing the look of confusion on his face.

"Nothing, just, you're being helpful." Ethan replied cautiously.

"I'm always helpful!" Cal replied cheerfully, as he picked up the final sheet of paper and put it back into the relevant file.

"So, what's her name then?" a voice called from behind him. Cal and Ethan turned to see Lofty there, and both wore identical expressions of confusion; Ethan, as he had no idea what Lofty was talking about, and Cal, as he wondered how Lofty had found out about Mia. Lofty laughed at the matching faces.

"Cal, being helpful? This can only mean one thing: you met a girl last night! So, was she good looking?"

"Don't be ridiculous Lofty, any girl I had over would be good looking, but that's not the case anyway." Cal responded, with a sigh of relief; Lofty had no idea about Mia. "Anyway, best get going." Cal said as he sauntered towards the staff room to grab his uniform out of his locker and get ready for his shift. Ethan and Lofty looked after him, suspicious. Cal being this nice was worrying, something was wrong.

Despite their suspicion, the rest of the shift went smoothly, and the staff quickly found themselves signing off and heading out.

"Who's up for a few drinks then?" Lofty called. "Cal?" Cal looked at his watch. It was 6pm already, Mia had been at home for nearly 3 hours without him, though he had texted her a few times to make sure she was ok. He didn't feel that he could abandon her any longer.

"Nah, mate, I have somewhere I need to be." Cal replied, and headed for the door, with a sea of shocked faces behind him.

"Did my eyes and ears just deceive me, or did Caleb Knight just turn down a trip to the pub?" Zoe said, voicing the opinion of all those around her.

"I'd better check he's feeling alright." Said Ethan, and ran after his older brother. "Hey, Cal, wait up!" he called. Cal turned around to see Ethan running towards him. "What's up?" He asked.

"Nothing, I just need to get home." Cal replied.

"Why?" Ethan asked.

"Geez Ethan, you're not 5, let's not play the "why" game!" Cal responded sharply.

"Sorry. This isn't like you though." Ethan said pointedly. Cal looked at his brother. He wasn't likely to get a better chance than now to tell him the truth.

"Ok, what I'm about to tell you, you must not tell _anyone_ , do you understand?" Cal said quietly, perking Ethan's suspicion.

"Absolutely." He replied.

"Right, well, several years ago, when I was at uni, I was engaged to a girl called Katie. She got pregnant, and we had a little girl called Mia." Cal paused to see a look of utter shock on Ethan's face. "Anyway, when Mia was about 7, Katie took her and disappeared with her, and I didn't see her for nearly 7 years. Then on Friday, she turned up on my doorstep with Mia, who was in tears and is now 13, and left her with me, with not a single word or explanation. So I'm now looking after my 13 year old daughter, and it's blooming difficult. She finished school at 3:15, so I really need to get back to her." Cal explained. Ethan was shocked.

"Why did you never tell me any of this before?" He gasped. "Can I meet her?"

"I never told you because it wasn't any of your business, and we weren't that close at the time, and yes you can, but not today, she's just started here and I want to make sure she's ok with it first."

Ethan was shocked at the transformation in his brother. He'd never seen Cal so warm, compassionate or caring before. If this is what had happened from Mia being with him for 3 days, well, there was no limit to how he could change in the future!

"Sure, but can you ask her, I'd like to meet her sometime soon." Ethan begged his brother.

"Fine, whatever, but I really need to go now, bye!" Cal replied, as he got into his car and drove home.


	3. Chapter 3

**Apologies for the massive delay! Exams slightly took over my life, but to make up for it, here's two chapters at once! :)**

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"Mia?" Cal called as he shut the apartment door behind him.

"In the kitchen!" She called back, and Cal followed the smells wafting though the apartment to the kitchen.

"That smells good, what are you making?" he asked.

"Only pizza, but I felt like it, I hope that's ok?" she asked meekly, looking up at Cal for reassurance.

"Yeah that's fine; just try not to burn yourself while cooking when I'm out the house." Cal responded, as he inspected a red patch on her forearm. Mia flinched back at his touch, which surprised Cal.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you." Cal apologised, feeling he had pushed her too far.

"No it's fine, it's just…" Mia trailed off. Cal dropped it.

"So, when will these delights be edible?" He asked, looking at the pizzas in the oven.

"In a few minutes." Mia replied, relieved that Cal wasn't pressing the matter any further.

Not long later, they were sitting at the counter eating the pizzas. "These are really good Mia, where did you learn to cook like this?" Cal asked.

"I've always been good at cooking; I used to cook for myself all the time at home with mum." Mia looked down at her feet and fidgeted a little. Cal could tell something was up, but he wanted Mia to trust him, which wouldn't happen if he kept bugging her.

"Well, these are way better than the take-out ones I normally get!" Cal responded to lighten the mood. Mia got up to put her plate away, and Cal decided there was no time like the present to ask her about Ethan.

"Mia, can I talk to you for a minute?" He asked as Mia approached the door. She froze, then turned to face Cal, fear written over her face. "Don't worry, it's nothing bad!" he added, shocked by her expression. Mia relaxed a little, and sat back down at the counter.

"So, my little brother, Ethan, who I told you about, works with me at the ED, and I …" Cal didn't know how to phrase what he was thinking. "My colleagues noticed that something was different, and he asked me about it, so I told him about you." Cal looked up at her. "I hope that's ok?" he asked.

Mia looked at him, confused. "Yeah, why wouldn't it be?" She asked.

"Well, he wants to meet you, but I said I wanted to make sure you were settled first and happy with it before he comes round." Cal explained.

"Oh, that's fine; I think I'd like to meet him too, especially after hearing so much about him!" Mia replied brightly. Cal breathed a sigh of relief.

"Cool, I'll tell him that. Would you be happy if he came round tomorrow after we finish our shift?" Cal asked.

"Yeah, that's fine." Mia replied. "Um, I have some homework I need to do, so do you mind if I…" Mia motioned to the door.

"Yeah, go ahead, if you need anything, just call me." Cal replied, and started to clear up the mess of flour, boards and bowls in the kitchen. That had gone well, and even though Mia seemed quite reserved, he felt like she was beginning to trust him. There was something wrong, he could tell, but she was a long way off opening up to him. He just had to make sure she knew he would always be there for her, in every way he could.

Mia went to her room and shut the door. She took a deep breath. She liked Cal, but she wasn't used to all the attention, her mum had never been around much before, and Mia pretty much kept to herself. In retrospect, this was probably why she struggled to make friends with people; she never talked much at home, and as a result, she was very shy.

Mia opened her bag and took out her English folder. They had just started doing "To Kill a Mockingbird", which was co-incidentally one of Mia's favourite books. She flicked though her homework diary at all the work she had to do. This was the problem with moving to a new school two weeks into the start of the year – she had two weeks' worth of work to catch up on. Fortunately, Mia had read "To Kill a Mockingbird" many times, so she made quick work of the 3 essays, and within a couple of hours, she had finished them.

She still had biology, maths and geography homework to do, but they were not due in for a while, so instead, Mia opened up her new laptop and looked on facebook. To her delight, her best friend from her old school in Manchester was online, and they had a lengthy chat about everything and everyone. Mia missed her old friends, but there were a few nice girls at her new school, and she hoped she would settle in eventually.

Mia then remembered she needed to check the times for dance and arts school she was joining. It was a separate branch of the same school she'd been with in Manchester, so she had been able to directly transfer into classes in Holby, but she had no idea where or when they were. After looking through the website, she made a note of it: she was in the Junior Dance Academy, Monday and Wednesday from 5 till 7, and Saturday from 10 till 12.

Mia walked back into the lounge to see Cal watching the news. Cal heard her footsteps and looked up.

"What can I do for you?" He asked.

"Um, the dance school I'm joining, my classes are Monday and Wednesday evenings and on Saturday morning too, is that ok?" She asked.

"Yeah, absolutely, where is it?" Cal replied

"I looked it up on google maps; it's just round the corner from the hospital, on Elizabeth Street." Mia said. "I can probably get there and back myself if you're working." She added

"Ok, that's fine, is there anything else you need?" Cal asked.

"No, I think I'll just go to bed now, 'night." Mia replied.

"Ok, goodnight." Cal responded.


	4. Chapter 4

The next morning went in a blur of showers, pancakes and uniforms until both Mia and Cal were ready to go. Cal dropped Mia outside the front gates to Holby Park School, and drove on to the hospital, where he immersed himself in his shift.

Meanwhile, Mia chatted to a few girls in the playground before the bell rang, signalling the start of the day, and they each had to go to their form rooms. One of the girls Mia was talking to was also in her form, so they walked to their form room in science block together, and sat down in the middle of the room just as their teacher, Mr. Burnett, started to take the register. Mia and Amy chatted quietly throughout the 15 minutes, before they split, and headed off to their first lessons; English for Mia, and Maths for Amy. As Mia walked along the corridor, she heard footsteps behind her, and turned to see Frankie and Annabelle, two other girls in her year.

"Hey midget freak!" the called, as they barged past her, causing her to drop her folder, and its contents fell across the floor. "Oops, sorry!" They laughed cattily and sauntered off, still laughing. Mia sighed and crouched down to pick up her work. As she stuffed sheets into a pile, a second set of hands appeared and helped her. Mia looked up and saw a good-looking boy from her English class there. It was like some unrealistic, cheesy scene from a chick-flick, and Mia couldn't believe her eyes.

"Here." He said, as he passed her the final few sheets of paper. "I'm Jake, by the way." He added awkwardly.

"Hi. I'm Mia. Thanks for… yeah." She replied, equally as awkward, as the bell rang. "Oops, we're late for English." Mia said, and they walked down the corridor in silence until they reached their classroom and sat in their seats; on the same row, but a few tables apart. Mia tried to concentrate on her work, but she found it easy, as she'd already read the book, and kept looking up towards Jake, who seemed to be having the same concentration issues. He made eye contact with her and they both smiled slightly, Mia rolling her eyes as their teacher pointed out yet another obvious metaphor in the chapter they were reading.

Soon enough, it was lunchtime, and Mia was sitting with Amy and their other friends Jess and Katie in the canteen as they ate their lunch. Jess and Amy were talking about boys, and Mia rolled her eyes. Teenage girls were so predictable. Katie laughed at Mia's expression.

"So come on Mia, who do you like?" Amy asked.

"Um, well I've only just got here so…" Mia tried to wriggle out of the conversation.

"There must be someone who's caught your eye!" Jess added, grinning.

"Well Jake Butler kept looking over at her during English." Katie added, laughing as Mia blushed and playfully pushed Katie.

"Hey! Thanks for that!" Mia replied, still blushing, but then joined in the laughter. "Ok, he's quite good looking though!" She said.

"Quite!" Jess exclaimed. "He's like a beauty God!"

"Whatever!" Mia said, and explained what had happened between form time and English.

"My God, that never happens in real life! What is this treachery?" Amy laughed.

"I know, I felt like I was in some cheesy film!" Mia replied, also laughing. She was relieved at how well she was getting on with these girls, she felt accepted as a friend with them.

"Does it feel weird though, like, he's nearly two years older than you!" Katie thought out loud.

"Well, a bit, but when we're older, people who are like 23 will go out with people who are like 28, so it's not that weird." Mia explained, thoughtfully.

"I guess that's true, but if one of us went out with a year 11, everyone would think it was really weird." Katie rationalised her thoughts.

"Anyway, who wants to go into town after school?" Jess changed the subject, and the other girls agreed. Mia thought about it.

"I'll have to see what time my dad's shift finishes." Mia said quietly.

"Why does that make a difference?" Amy asked. Mia was in two minds; she wanted to spend time with her friends, but she also wanted to meet Ethan, and Cal said he would come over today.

"I guess it doesn't really, I'll just send him a text later." Mia decided. If Cal wanted her to come home, he could always ring her.

"Cool, well, I have Biology last, what do you all have?" Jess said. The others looked at their timetables. Katie was in Jess's Biology class, and Amy and Mia both had PE. "So shall we meet outside the PE block then?" Asked Jess, and the others all agreed.


End file.
